


in a split second, i loved you

by sailingthenightsea



Series: this is destiny [2]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Emphasis, Post-Season/Series 01, also cirilla is a Baby, also let's ignore the ghoul bite and pretend hallucination mom fixed him, and making up my own ideas about where it might go, and must be protected, bc idk how to deal w that and also i do not want to, excessive use of italics and dashes, this is just TV canon bc i know nothing about the other versions, this is just me taking a closer look at geralt and ciri's relationship, weird grammar stuff is for emphasis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:13:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22236892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailingthenightsea/pseuds/sailingthenightsea
Summary: “Any debt you owed me has been paid,” Geralt says, and the farmer nods.“Thank you,” Ciri tells the woman.Her smile is watery as she replies, “Of course, child. I was happy to.”
Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg (implied)
Series: this is destiny [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594753
Comments: 60
Kudos: 411





	in a split second, i loved you

**Author's Note:**

> part two!!

_“Who is Yennefer?”_

“What?” he asks and it comes out a little breathless.

Cirilla blinks up at him, eyes searching for something in his face. “I heard your voice. In my dreams. You were calling her name—you and another woman. I thought it might be you, but I wasn’t sure until now.” A beat. “Who is she?”

He could lie. Or leave out the details. But somehow… it feels wrong. To lie to her. Especially while she’s still half hugging him and holding him in place with that wide open trusting gaze. So he tells her as much of the truth as he can manage. “A mage. A powerful one. She was- is- I knew her. Well. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her. We didn’t part on good terms.”

She bites her lip and his stomach twists with fear. “I think she might be in trouble.”

“Why?” His voice is urgent, his blood going cold, but Cirilla doesn’t flinch.

“The dream,” she says. “There was fire—so much fire. And you and the woman, calling for Yennefer.” She hesitates for a moment, eyes worried. Then, softly, “You sounded afraid, Geralt.”

His heart stutters in his chest, but he knows Yennefer, knows she’s older and far more powerful than he is, knows she can take care of herself. Knows he has to have faith in her.

Knows he has a more important job now.

“Whatever it is—whatever happened or will happen—Yennefer can handle it. She’s by far the most powerful mage I’ve ever met. And the most stubborn. She’ll be alright.” He nods, definitively, leaving no room for either of them to argue. Then he reaches out, pulls a leaf from her hair. “Right now, my job is to protect you, Princess—”

“Ciri. Just call me Ciri. Please.”

The corners of his lips twitch up into a smile and he thinks Yenn would agree. “Alright, Ciri, my job is to keep you safe. Yenn is almost definitely at the very center of the biggest danger on the continent—as usual—so looking for her is out of the question for a while.”

“Then what are we going to do? We can’t stay here—if I’m here, these people will die—”

“Ciri,” he starts, but she pushes on.

“No, they _will_. Wherever I go, people get hurt.” The hard edge of her voice melts away, and what’s left is small and scared and he wants to reach out and hold her or to kill everything that dares threaten her. “I don’t want to watch anyone else die, Geralt.”

And he knows better than to promise that she won’t. Knows that the world they live in is violent and cruel and knows that the monsters never stop coming and knows that so long as she is with him, promising the opposite would be easy. He could lie, but he doesn’t. Instead, he gives her what he can. “Alright, we’ll leave today. Soon—I swear—I just need time to talk to the man and get Roach ready.” The look of relief and gratitude which is painted across her face twists into confusion and disgust when he mentions Roach, startling a soft laugh out of him. “My horse,” he explains.

She steps back, looking at him like he’s the strangest man she’s ever met. “Why would you name your horse _Roach_?” He shrugs and she shakes her head. “That’s so weird.” He just breathes a laugh in response.

“We ought to head back before they come searching,” he says, and she nods. Her fingers brush his hand, reaching out to hold it, but he stiffens and she starts to pull away. Before she can, he catches her small gloved hand with his calloused and scarred one. Holds on. Her fingers curl around his and the tiny smile on her face makes his chest feel warm again.

They emerge from the line of trees a handful of quiet minutes later. The woman’s eyes track the way Ciri almost clings to his hand and how close she keeps to his side, and he watches as happiness and disappointment war on her face. He’d hardly registered it at the time, but he thinks back to the excitement in her voice as she told her husband about the orphan girl she’d found. A few hours ago, he would’ve considered leaving Ciri with the woman, staying nearby only long enough to ensure the threat had passed. But, now, the thought barely crosses his mind before it’s dismissed. His life is not one fit for a child, but he is selfish and Ciri is safest with him.

So he thanks the woman for keeping _his daughter_ safe. At that, confusion flits across the farmer’s face, but then understanding quickly blooms in its place.

_But what I can offer you is the Law of Surprise. That which I have but don’t know._

“Any debt you owed me has been paid,” Geralt says, and the farmer nods.

“Thank you,” Ciri tells the woman.

Her smile is watery as she replies, “Of course, child. I was happy to.”

Geralt lifts Ciri up onto Roach before stepping into the stirrup and swinging himself into the saddle behind her. With a nod at the farmer and his wife, he kicks twice, clicking his tongue, and Roach sets off.

They ride until dusk, until the sounds of fighting have long since faded, until Ciri starts leaning heavily against his chest and he heads to the nearest town he knows. Big enough that they have an inn and small enough he doesn’t have to worry about being recognized.

By the time he gets Roach situated somewhere warm and dry for the night, Ciri is blinking heavily and swaying on her feet. God knows when she last had a full night of sleep.

So he crouches down, says, “Here, get on my back,” and she does. He stands, hikes her up a little on his waist, and grunts in response to her sleepy “thank you”. The innkeeper smiles softly at the sight when he enters, keeps her voice low as she gets him a room.

She’s asleep when he sets her on the bed and she barely stirs as he unlaces her boots, takes off her gloves, and unclasps her cloak. He pulls the blankets over her, brushes a stray curl out of her face. Breathes through the light and warmth filling up his chest until it’s almost suffocating.

Then he settles on top of the blankets on the other side of the bed. Tells himself he won’t fall asleep. Just close his eyes for a moment.

When he wakes, it’s to the early light of dawn. And to Ciri, curled into a ball and pressed into his side.

And he breathes. He breathes.

And he knows, with this, everything changes.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm already working on more for this series! ik these are pretty short, but i'd rather write a bunch of short works than lose my momentum and leave a longer work unfinished.
> 
> lmk how you liked this! i've been having a lot of fun writing these two!! hopefully y'all enjoy it as much as i have lol
> 
> hmu on [tumblr](https://sailingthenightsea.tumblr.com) :)


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